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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26468407">Above the Stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewayofthemandalorian/pseuds/thewayofthemandalorian'>thewayofthemandalorian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Prospect (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Inspired by Interstellar (2014), Kissing, Mutual Pining, interstellar au, some violence and gore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:47:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,701</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26468407</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewayofthemandalorian/pseuds/thewayofthemandalorian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Come back to me,” you whispered against Ezra’s lips.<br/>“Always, my starlight.”</p><p>A team of scientists and astronauts has to find a new home for humanity. Along the way, you and the pilot, Ezra, fall in love.</p><p>An Interstellar AU!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ezra (Prospect 2018)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Above the Stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I do not own the characters/plot from Interstellar or the characters/plot from Prospect. </p><p>This is my first piece of fanfiction, so please go easy on me. </p><p>Title comes from Coldplay's song "Moving to Mars" which I had, along with the Interstellar soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, on a loop while writing this.</p><p>Come find me on tumblr @thewayofthemandalorian</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The severity of your new reality sank in as you sat in the waiting area of the spaceport. Not a second too soon. It was something that had been incrementally creeping up on you, but up until this point, you had been able to give it no more than a passing thought before you became depressed or panicked. <em>Oh yeah, let’s just go past our solar system to find a new, sustainable, habitable planet for humanity to fuck up. This planet’s a bust. </em>The way that everyone at NASA had called it the Mission, like it was a totally normal, every day occurrence. Like it was something that you would return home from. But you didn’t really have a home anymore, did you? You couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.</p><p>Your smirk caught the attention of the pilot of your mission. You’d met the other astronaut briefly the day before. Callahan was his name. He was soft-spoken. Didn’t use a lot of words. Always straight to the point. But you’d yet to meet the pilot. Not the way you would have done things. If you were in charge, you would have made it a priority to have the team members get to know each other before they had to spend literally all their time together in a closed space, but you weren’t in charge. The pilot had a neutral expression, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look away from him. His hair intrigued you - it was a dark brown, although you were sure that if the sun hit it just correctly it would be a golden colour, like honeysuckle in the sunset. But that wasn’t it about his hair that intrigued you. It was the streak. Just a tiny little patch of it at the front that looked like the sun had stroked along it, leaving its mark in that little tiny clump of hair.</p><p>His eyes and face were storied. A little white scar kissed the skin just beneath his left eye. His eyes matched his hair. Dark brown that had hidden depths. In certain light, his eyes would probably take on a hint of amber like his hair. You were sure that when this man smiled, his eyes would light up as well. Scruff peppered his face. He was beautiful. Before he could catch you staring, you cleared your throat.</p><p>“Nervous?” you asked. <em>What a dumb question</em>, you thought to yourself, <em>we’re all nervous</em>.</p><p>But the man with the sun in his hair didn’t seem to hold that against you.</p><p>“On the contrary. I am <em>intrigued </em>by what we will find up there.” He pointed a finger upwards.</p><p>His accent was hard to pinpoint. It sounded as though he had lived in many different places. It suited him.</p><p>You didn’t know how to respond, so you just nodded.</p><p>“I am Ezra,” the man introduced himself, extending a hand. You introduced yourself and placed your hand in his and shook, gently but firmly.</p><p>“I am delighted to make your acquaintance, starlight,” said Ezra, holding onto your hand for a moment, giving it a squeeze. “I am absolutely positive that you and I will become staunch friends in our excursion into the cosmos.” Ezra’s gentle smile calmed your frayed nerves, and not a minute too soon, for when you dropped his hand from yours, Callahan rounded the corner to your waiting area.</p><p>“The ship is ready,” Callahan said.</p><p>“That is our cue, starlight,” Ezra said, standing up at the same time as you as the overhead PA system called your names. He motioned for you to go first down the hallway following Callahan.</p><p><em>This was it.</em> </p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p>You weren’t too sure what to expect before, but now that you were in it, being in space was odd. Completely alien (ha), while also oddly familiar in a way that couldn’t be fully explained. As you sat in the passenger seat next to Ezra, who was piloting the rocket towards the primary ship that would take you through the wormhole. God, this all sounded like some cheap pulp fiction novel or something. You squeezed your hands together on your lap and bit your lip. Ezra seemed to notice your tension as he pressed a button on the console. His free hand touched yours.</p><p>“Everything will be just fine, starlight,” he said quietly as Callahan snored quietly behind you. If Ezra had been anyone else, you would have reminded them of your given name, that you were a woman that was to be taken seriously. But with Ezra, you knew that he gave you that nickname as a term of endearment.</p><p>The two of you had chatted away as he piloted the shuttle. He’d been a test pilot in his younger days before he’d been forced to give it up. Following that, he’d become a prospector of sorts, but not for gold or silver, but for food. That was how he had gotten his scar, from a run-in with some mercenaries, who’d had the same idea as him. You enjoyed speaking with Ezra. Telling him stories of your childhood, how you’d dreamt of the stars as a little girl. How you had given up your dream of being an astronomer in favour of being a biologist. He’d reminded you with a smile that you still got to be amongst the stars. You found a kindred soul in Ezra. And something inside you tingled whenever he called you starlight. You offered him a rueful smile and squeezed his hand in thanks. His hand stayed intwined with yours until he was forced to use both hands for the console.</p><p>Ezra was out of the ordinary, that was certain. Although he was very serious when it came to piloting, you saw the rogue side of him come up every now and again and you liked what you saw; if your intuition was correct, Ezra liked what he saw as well. While it wasn’t <em>technically</em> forbidden for astronauts to have romances with each other, it was certainly frowned upon, but not unheard of, if the rumours of Amelia Brand and Wolf Edmunds were anything to go by. You weren’t entirely sure what was going on with you and Ezra, but what you did know was that he made you feel safe, comfortable.</p><p>The primary ship, your home for the unforseeable future, that was going to take you to the wormhole at Saturn, the <em>Fortitude</em>, was stark and sparse. You cringed inwardly as you took it in. Callahan had done his primary work, had sent a video message to his wife and almost instantly went down for the long, two-year nap, another thing you forced yourself not to think about before now. As Ezra finished the final touches with the <em>Fortitude’s </em>console system before it went into autopilot mode, your mind wandered again as you walked to the window, looking at the endless sea of stars.</p><p>“Penny for your thoughts, starlight?” Ezra’s voice came from behind you. He had changed into the sleeping clothes provided. You sighed as you walked over to him.</p><p>“Just thinking of the absurdity of all this,” you said. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to be here. I think that what we’re doing is important. But there’s something just so … existential about all this,” you continued, hoping that Ezra would understand. He reached out, caught a stray strand of your hair and played with it in his fingers. You sighed.</p><p>“I have to admit, the whole notion of abandoning our home planet in search of another with very little assurance of success doesn’t always bode well with me either. I think it is the nature of the proverbial beast, sweetheart. There would be something wrong with us if we <em>did not </em>feel this way,” Ezra mused. His words had a way of calming you, spoken with his slow and thoughtful melodic accent.</p><p>Ezra moved his hand from your hair and landed it on your cheek. “Do not fret, starlight. We will prevail,” he murmured, holding your gaze for a long moment as you moved your hand to his wrist, holding his hand to your face.</p><p>“We shouldn’t linger, Ezra,” you said after a moment of standing there, glancing behind Ezra at the hyper-sleep pods that waited for the two of you. Ezra nodded.</p><p>“Too right you are. It would be prudent not to prolong our rest. Before you know it, we shall be coming up on the ringed beauty herself,” replied Ezra, making his way to his sleep pod. “Dream well, starlight, and I shall see you on the other side.”</p><p>Before he could enter, you slid up behind him, put a hand on his cheek, and kissed his other cheek, just below the scar beneath his eye. You smiled shyly, a smile he returned in full, before making your way to your own sleep pod. The last smile he gave you before going under was enough to soothe your aching nerves and allowed you to settle into your pod. As you drifted off, you couldn’t get his easy smile out of your mind’s eye. Not that you wanted to.</p><p>* * *</p><p>The first thing you were aware of was <em>cold. </em>But also <em>hot</em>. It took you a moment to realize where you were. The lights of the <em>Fortitude </em>were dimmed down low, something Ezra had seen to before the three of you had gone down for the two year nap. You mentally retroactively thanked him as you got your bearings. As you emerged from your sleep chamber, you coughed violently, shivering against the cool air of the ship compared to the warmth of the sleeping pod.</p><p>“Easy there, starlight. I got you,” said a familiar accented voice to your left. A tanned hand reached out for yours. <em>Ezra.</em> You clasped it with yours and he hoisted you up into his arms. You shivered against him as you took in your surroundings. “It’s alright. It’s mighty cold compared to the warm embrace of that sleep pod, ain’t it?” asked Ezra. Callahan said something in agreement as you nodded against his chest. He was impossibly warm, you noticed. Part of you wondered if it was from the heating blanket he had wrapped around his shoulders. But you were sure it was an Ezra thing as well.</p><p>He moved imperceptibly closer, his gaze at your lips. You gave a look at his eyes before gazing at his lips as well, his forehead moving to touch yours as he moved his mouth ever-so-closer to yours. You could feel his breath on your face. But before his lips could touch yours, you shivered violently again, your teeth beginning to chatter. You cursed yourself internally as Ezra gave you an understanding gaze.</p><p>Removing you from his embrace, Ezra moved to get you a warming blanket of your own. You practically moaned at the warmth of it as you whispered a hoarse “thank you.” Ezra smiled. “That rough voice is to be expected. It’s from the sleep. Two years without talkin’ will do that to a person. It will wear off in about a half hour or so,” explained Ezra. “I could not so much as <em>fathom</em> going two years without speakin’ until we went down for the sleep.” You couldn’t help but smile at that. Ezra was quite the chatter. You sighed, wrapping the blanket tighter around you and walked on slightly unsteady legs towards the table where Callahan sat.</p><p>“How much longer until we’re at the wormhole?” you asked, your voice crackly. Callahan looked at his notes, pushing his glasses up on his nose as he perused his scribblings.</p><p>“According to this, no more than about two to two and a half hours or so.” Your eyes widened at this. You had expected <em>days </em>at most.</p><p>“Do … do we know what to expect?” you asked. Ezra shrugged. Callahan took another glance at his notes.</p><p>“Well, it’s hard to tell, but it looks like Inumon and Damon have both sent thumbs up in the galaxy we’re emerging into. Oruf was sending a thumbs up but it looks like it has since gone down. It will be easier to tell once we have emerged on the other side.”</p><p>Ezra excused himself to go and take control of the <em>Fortitude </em>back from autopilot. Very faintly you could hear Ezra muttering to himself but couldn’t make out what he was saying. It was a lot to think about. You were glad that you had two other people to bounce ideas off of. You glanced as the quiet physicist as he continued to pore over his notes and decided to leave him to his devices, electing to join Ezra in the console room, listening to him mutter away at the console and every now and again talk to you about whatever was on his mind. He was easy company to be in. Very companionable, but you also knew instinctively not to get on his bad side. As he finished whatever it was he was doing at the console, the wormhole came into view. You shared a look of slight trepidation with Ezra.</p><p>* * *</p><p>Before too long, you had made it up to the wormhole. As Callahan, who was a physicist, explained the properties of a wormhole to Ezra, you strapped yourself into the seat next to Ezra’s. You were sure the two men could hear the gears grinding in your head as you thought of the possibilities that awaited you on the other side.</p><p>“What has you ruminatin’ so loudly over there, starlight?” asked Ezra, resting a hand on your shin.</p><p><em>Oh, just the fact that we’re about to leave our home solar system, possibly forever and who’s to say that we’ll be successful in finding a new home for all of fucking humanity? And what if it all goes terribly wrong? </em>“Everything and nothing,” you said. Ezra gave your leg a squeeze just as the <em>Fortitude</em> arrived at the wormhole. Removing his hand from your leg, Ezra said, “Everyone ready to leave our solar system?”</p><p>“To our galaxy,” amended Callahan from behind you.</p><p>“Alright. Here we go,” said Ezra. “Come on baby, come on. Let’s do this.”</p><p>Entering a wormhole was unlike anything you had ever experienced. It felt like your entire body was going through a blender. Everything was moving in slow motion and at regular speed and sped up simultaneously. The console was beeping frantically as Ezra carefully piloted through the wormhole, whispering reassurances to the console as he manouevered the ship through.</p><p>And just as quickly as it had started, it was over. The blender-feeling and the odd passage of time had ceased.</p><p>“We’re here,” said Callahan.</p><p>You unfastened yourself from your seat and rushed to the window. You could see the black hole. Gargantua. It was beautiful. Horrifying, but beautiful. It gave off an eerie light. A planet was visible just off the cusp of it. You wondered what planet that one was.</p><p>Business as usual, Callahan got right down to the point. “So it looks like Inumon’s planet is the one on the cusp of Gargantua. And her signal is continuing to come up strong. It looks like there’s a good opportunity for life there.”</p><p>“I’m waitin’ for a ‘but’, because all of that information you just gave sounds like it is too good to be true,” said Ezra. You nodded in agreement.</p><p>“But, due to its proximity to Gargantua, the time is much different down there than it is for us. Every minute down on Inumon’s planet is” - a quick glance at his notes - “nine years back on Earth.”</p><p>“There’s the rub,” muttered Ezra as you gave a low whistle, looking at your hands.</p><p>“Relativity will do that. I vote that we go,” said Callahan. It was hard to deny that the details that he had given were good.</p><p>“I am inclined to agree. I can pilot the ranger in such a way to preserve time and fuel. We dip in and out. No dilly-dallyin’. Starlight? What is your opinion?” asked Ezra. You looked up from your hands.</p><p>“It sounds good. I do think that one of us should stay back to keep an eye on things, data sorting. All that. And if we’re talking a few years, I can catch up on some research, find out what I can about Gargantua,” you said. Ezra opened his mouth to object, but Callahan cut in. “That sounds wise. I doubt we will be too long.” Well, then. That ended <em>that</em> conversation.</p><p>As Callahan sat in the ranger, you held back with Ezra for a minute. You could tell that he didn’t want to part ways, even for a few hours-slash-years. “Are you sure, starlight? There is plenty of room in that little shuttle of ours,” he asked.</p><p>“I’m sure. You’ll be back in no time. I won’t even have time to miss you,” you teased lightly, trying to diffuse his unease at the situation.</p><p>“You wound me, starlight.”</p><p>“Just - Um. Be-be careful, won’t you, Ezra?” you asked, suddenly serious.</p><p>“I always am. I’ll be back in a tick, sweet girl.”</p><p>Before Ezra could make his way into the ranger, you were upon him. Your arms wrapped around his neck as you pulled him to you, your lips meeting his in a passionate kiss.</p><p>Although momentarily stunned, it took Ezra no time to mould his lips to yours as he tried to memorize the feeling of you against him, breathing him in. His scruff tickled against your face as his lips roamed yours. You relished the feeling before he, regrettably on both your parts, pulled back, pressing his forehead to yours.</p><p>“Come back to me,” you whispered against Ezra’s lips.</p><p>“Always, my starlight.”</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p> </p><p>“Starlight?” A voice you hadn’t heard in <em>years</em> startled you. You were faintly aware of your mug of coffee cluttering to the ground as you turned slowly. <em>Ezra</em>.</p><p>“E-Ezra?” you breathed, taking your pilot in. He looked <em>wrecked </em>as he pulled you in for a chaotic kiss that was both frantic and soothing. As he pulled away to look at you again, you felt sobs working their way up in your body, tears coming to the surface.</p><p>“Starlight. I am here. It’s all right now,” he whispered as you clung to him, sobbing against his shoulder. He made reassuring whispers that he was here now, that you were all right.</p><p>“I-it’s been <em>years, </em>Ezra. I was starting to think I dreamed you. What happened?” you said through sobs. Ezra took a good look at you. You looked older, though not by much.</p><p>“Did you sleep, starlight?” Ezra asked. You nodded. “For how long? How long were you in that wonderfully wretched sleep chamber?”</p><p>You thought for a moment. “It must have been sixteen years. I couldn’t do it any more Ezra. It was so claustrophobic, and it felt like cheating. I didn’t want to dream my life away,” you said, taking a shuddering breath.</p><p>Something you said gave Ezra pause. “Wait a minute. Did you say … sixteen years? How - how long has it been for you, starlight? It has been a mere…” he trailed off. He didn’t know how long it had been for him down on Inumon’s wretched planet. It had felt like <em>minutes</em>.</p><p>“It’s been twenty years, Ezra. At least. Maybe more. I lost count.” Your answer positively floored him.</p><p>
  <em>Twenty years. What a waste. What a horrible, atrocious waste.</em>
</p><p>It was only now that you realized that Ezra was alone. Two had left all those many years ago, only one had returned. You frowned as a stray tear made its way down your cheek. “Ezra? What-what happened? Where’s Callahan?” You didn’t know if you wanted to know the answer, and judging from the look on Ezra’s face - a look of utter remorse and guilt - you knew it was a mistake going to Inumon’s planet. And for perhaps the first time in Ezra’s life, he was at a loss for words. “It was futile attempting to find us a home here, starlight. So utterly futile and filled with hubris. There is nothing for us on this planet. Nothing but heartache and toil.”</p><p>As he stepped out of his spacesuit, he explained that Inumon’s planet was a veritable wasteland with quicksand dunes and death traps at every corner. “At first it appeared like a true wonderland. But she was a deceivin’ planet, one that has more than meets the eye. A planet that I theorize killed her namesake mere moments after her own arrival, which for her would have been an iota of time before our own arrival. Hence her green light. And Callahan, rest his soul, stepped into a fire pit before I could efficiently warn him to stay put.” After Ezra had told his tale of woe, and how, for him, it had only been about fifteen minutes before Callahan had met his untimely end, but the ranger had been parked in a sand dune - gratefully not a quicksand dune - so he had to drain the engines before taking off again. “I thought of little else than returnin’ to you, starlight. I promised you I would. I’m only sorry it took me so long.” Ezra had a look of pure sorrow on his face. You took it in between your hands and kissed him softly.</p><p>“It’s not your fault, Ezra. It’s no one’s fault. How could you have known? And you said so yourself that even Inumon - she didn’t know either. Not until it was too late. It wasn’t your fault. Just a really, truly horrible accident that no one could have forseen,” you whispered, pressing your lips to his once more. Ezra let out a sob at this as he held you close to him, nuzzling in close to you, his lips never far from a swatch of your skin. You held him like that for a while, your own tears mixing with his.</p><p>When, at last, you had cried yourselves out, you found yourself and Ezra gazing at each other. Some unspoken tension hung in the air as his lips found yours again. They clung to each other, Ezra’s tongue eventually pressing up against your lips asking for entrance into your mouth, which you granted, a soft moan as his tongue danced with yours. His hand, which had been at your shoulder, moved to your hip, pulling you so close to him that you were on his lap. His other hand was at the back of your neck. Yours lay one in his hair, still so beautiful after two decades apart - with that impossible streak - the other at his side. Ezra broke the kiss, more for the sake of oxygen than anything else, and began roaming your jaw and neck with his lips. A nip here, a bite there. “Heaven itself could never <em>deign</em> to feel so good,” Ezra said, his voice husky and filled with awe.</p><p>Tilting your neck to give him more access, a “Please, Ezra,” escaped your lips in a frantic whisper. Ezra pulled back his ministrations for a moment, his eyes, darker than usual, asking the question of <em>are you sure? </em>You could feel he wanted it as much as you did, and you nodded. Before pressing his lips against yours again, Ezra said, his voice rough and soft with yearning, “Not here, my starlight. I intend to do this properly. In a bed.” And before you could climb off him, he had hoisted you up in his arms, your legs wrapped around his waist, and carried youto his bunk to have his way with you.</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p>“Starlight?” Ezra’s voice, thick with sleep, interrupted your reverie. You woke before Ezra had, slipping into the washroom to clean up. A plethora of purple and red marks littered your neck and chest, a stray one on your stomach - reminders of the previous night’s activities. You were just settling back into bed curled up against Ezra’s side when he stirred from sleep. He’d slept like the dead afterwards; you’d been absently worried as you drifted off to sleep that he might need a sedative to calm him from his experiences on Inumon’s planet, but his evened out breathing and soft snores soon assured you that he seemed to be all right. You smiled at the endearment, doubtful that you would ever tire of the nickname he had given you. “What should our next course of action be?” he asked. You stroked your thumb absently against his wrist as you thought.</p><p>“What are our options again?” you asked.</p><p>“There’s Damon’s planet, which is givin’ us the all-clear still, but is farther away. And then there’s Oruf’s planet, which is closer, but went quiet many eons ago,” Ezra reminded you, stroking your hair. You sighed at the sensation as you thought over your options. You bit your lip as Ezra reminded you, “We only have enough gas on this piece of veritable piece of machinery for one more large excursion and then we are out of luck, my starlight.”</p><p>“I think we should maybe go to Damon’s planet, if he’s still giving us a positive signal,” you said. Ezra nodded in agreement.</p><p>“I am inclined to agree with you, sweetheart. And not just because I am biased.” You gave him a bashful grin. “No, I am serious, starlight. I feel very … <em>tender</em> around you.” Ezra played with your fingers with his own.</p><p>“You’re okay, too,” you said, half-teasingly, heat flooding your face.</p><p>“I am so glad you think so, sweet girl,” Ezra quipped, giving your hand a tender squeeze before pressing his lips to your knuckles.</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p>You and Ezra gave yourselves a week and a half before starting your way to Damon’s planet, taking the time to reacquaint yourselves with each other and recover from the long time spent apart, as well as Ezra’s experience on Inumon’s planet. It wasn’t enough time, not nearly enough time, but you needed to continue onwards. You both knew that, but you wished that you had more time before carrying on with things, even (especially) if it was just spending a lazy day wrapped up in bed with Ezra, chatting about nothing in particular, his lips never far from you. You wished every day could be like that day.</p><p>The journey itself to Damon’s planet did not take too long despite it being the further of the two options. Opting to take the ranger shuttle instead of the <em>Fortitude</em>, you and Ezra made your way onto the lush, green planet that Damon had landed on years ago, Ezra’s free hand entwined in yours every time he did not need both hands on the console. You squeezed his hand reassuringly, knowing that the man you had come to care so deeply about was nervous about another botched attempt at finding a habitable planet.</p><p>Besides lush flora, there was no sign of life anywhere. As you scanned the planet after getting out of the ranger, you could see a little NASA station out of the corner of your eye. “Ezra,” you said, pointing in the direction of the small building.</p><p>“Stay close, starlight,” Ezra said as he led the way towards the building.</p><p>The planet was beautiful. It seemed like it could serve as a good new home for humanity. As you and Ezra walked in your bulky suits, you realized this was the first time in nearly twenty years that you had been outside the <em>Fortitude. </em>And the first time in about twenty-five years that you hadn’t been on a spacecraft. Ezra noticed your expression through the helmet as you walked in step next to him. “Is all well, starlight?” he asked worriedly.</p><p>“Yes, everything’s fine, Ezra. Just thinking about things,” you replied lightly, lacing your gloved fingers through his.</p><p>The building was void of life. There were machines and papers strewn about, but no sign of Damon. Until - “Ezra, check the sleeping pod,” you said, a hunch taking over you. Ezra made his way over to it, pressed a few buttons on the exterior console, and the chamber rose, revealing a man. <em>Damon</em>, you thought. As Damon came to, and realized that there were people there, he burst into tears. Ezra patted him awkwardly on the back. “It’s okay,” Ezra said, attempting to reassure the man.</p><p>Ten minutes later, you, Ezra, and Damon sat around the worktable as Damon drank deeply from a flask. “I’m so fuckin’ grateful you showed up. I was starting to worry … well,” he chuckled breathily. “I’ve been alone for almost forty years at this point. Once I did the overview of the Green, I gave the thumbs up and went down for the long nap, knowing it would be years before someone showed up,” explained Damon. There was something in his eyes and body language that you didn’t trust, but you pressed on.</p><p>“What can you tell us about your world?” you asked, trying to be as genial as possible. Damon sniffed and said, “Well, it’s green. Hence its nickname. Um, it’s lush. Lots of flora and fauna. There’s a lot of gems hidden beneath the surface. Not that they do any good here, you know what I mean? The air is breathable. It’s really perfect for a colony of people,” said Damon, his eyes flicking every which way as he spoke.</p><p>“Well, that certainly does sound promisin’,” Ezra started, catching your eye. As Damon busied himself with his flask you shot him a look that very clearly said, <em>we need to have a chat, </em>“ah, but if you will excuse my partner and myself for just a moment so we may confer?” Damon just shrugged and said, “Yeah, whatever.”</p><p>As soon as the door to the antechamber closed, you hissed, “I don’t trust him, Ezra.” Ezra shook his head. “I don’t trust him either, starlight. What really tipped me off was when he said the air was breathable. I did a scan on the air as we landed. That air is as toxic as a nuclear waste dump. But we cannot let him know that we are onto him.”</p><p>“What are we going to do, Ezra? We can’t keep letting him lie, can we?” Ezra pondered for a moment, both of you completely unaware that Damon could hear what you were saying. “We are going to go along with his little charade, and when he is caught unawares, we turn the tables on him, starlight. And then we are leavin’ this <em>diseased </em>planet never to return.”</p><p>You nodded in agreement. “That’s probably a good idea,” you said. “No need for him to know right away that we’re onto him.” Ezra opened the door for you, and as the two of you clambered through the door, something about Damon standing in the corner seemed <em>off</em>. Well, more off.</p><p>“What were you talking about?” asked Damon in an accusatory tone. You flashed Ezra a quick look of panic.</p><p>“Ah, just about, um … getting back to our ranger. Making sure it’s okay,” you said, cringing at how obvious your lie was.</p><p>“Funny,” said Damon, no hint of humour in his voice, “because I could have sworn that you were talking about how I’m a liar.” Before you or Ezra could repute that, Damon had pulled a gun from the belt of his pants. <em>Where the fuck did the gun come from?!</em></p><p>You screamed as Damon tackled Ezra to the ground, wrestling with him. He very clearly had the upper hand. The gun fired. Ezra let out a pained howl as the bullet met his arm just above the elbow. Damon was completely ignoring you, even as you yelled at him to stop. It was like you had been forgotten about in their struggle. Damon shoved Ezra outside, snarling loudly, “I almost fucking died here. You should experience the feeling yourself! And don’t you worry, sweet cheeks,” Damon turned to you, “I’ll let you watch. And then it’s your turn.” You watched in horror, words failing you as Damon attempted and failed to crack Ezra’s helmet with his forehead. And then something happened. Ezra got the upper hand, and you realized why it was a good thing you never got on his bad side. Ezra became almost <em>feral</em> as he strongarmed Damon, throwing in a punch or two with his injured arm. He winced and looked at you. It was then that you noticed what had Ezra looking at you with a frantic look mixed with the adrenaline and pain in his face. The gun, which had been forgotten in the scuffle lay at your feet. You grabbed it.</p><p>“Don’t hesitate, starlight,” Ezra said, his voice steely as he positioned a very weakened Damon in front of you. You pulled the trigger.</p><p>The sound of gunfire in the otherwise silent air was deafening. But you met your target and he slumped over. Before you could so much as think about what had happened, Ezra was upon you, Damon’s body lying forgotten in the corner. “Are you injured?”</p><p>“I’m <em>fine</em>. I’m more worried about <em>you</em>, Ezra.” It was then that Ezra noticed the bullet once again. Taking his hand in yours, you ran as fast as you could to the ranger, hoping and praying that the toxic air wouldn’t interfere with Ezra’s arm. After practically forcing Ezra into the passenger’s seat (“I know how to fly one of these!” you argued) you wrapped a makeshift tourniquet around Ezra’s bullet wound. You hoped to any god that might be listening that the toxic air did not make the wound fester, that you could fix him. You raced across the sky and as soon as you connected to the <em>Fortitude</em>, you leaned him against you, and helped him into the med-room.</p><p>Ezra’s breathing was erratic, his body drenched in a cold sweat. “Stay with me, my love,” you said as you helped ease him out of his suit. You would patch the arm of his suit later, but for right now there were more pressing matters at hand. You handed him a pill from your med-kit that would help with the pain as you snipped away his undershirt to expose the bullet wound. “I’m so sorry, Ezra. So sorry, but this is going to hurt,” you warned as you poured a hefty amount of rubbing alcohol on a cloth and rubbed it against the bullet. Ezra groaned deeply and his uninjured hand reached out to grab your shin as you reached for the medical pliers. Gratefully, the bullet was easy to remove. However, that didn’t make it any less painful for Ezra, his pants and grunts and moans filling the otherwise silent room.</p><p>After dropping the removed bullet into a cup, you made sure that there were no fragments still hiding before stitching him up and applying a healthy amount of bacta spray on the wound. As you wrapped Ezra’s upper arm with gauze, you whispered, “I’m so sorry, Ezra.” Through a sheen of sweat on his face, he looked puzzled. “Whyever for, starlight?” You attempted to stay calm as you said, “I shouldn’t have - It was my idea -” you didn’t know how to word it, but Ezra would hear none of it.</p><p>“I will not hear the woman I love blame herself. It is no one’s fault except for that madman Damon,” Ezra’s tone brooked no denial.</p><p>
  <em>The woman I love. </em>
</p><p>“What?” you whispered.</p><p>“You heard me. Now, you do not have to say it back just yet but -” You cut him off with a kiss. One that you hoped conveyed all the love and tenderness you felt for him. Pulling back, and resting a hand on his sweaty cheek, you whispered, “I love you, too.” And you gave him another kiss.</p><p>Ezra gave you a pained smile. You hoped you got to him in time, but all the same, you would keep an incredibly close eye on him for the next little while. “I think I may be the first person to perform surgery in space,” you mused aloud. And then you burst into manic, uncontrollable laughter.</p><p>As Ezra pulled you against his uninjured side and stroked your side, the laughter gave way to sobs. You buried your face in his shoulder and cried as Ezra whispered soothing reassurances to you, not for the first time. You sat there on the floor of the med-room like that for a time, long after your tears had dried. “I am inclined to take tomorrow off, starlight. What do you say?” Ezra’s voice was muffled in your hair, but you nodded in agreement against his chest.</p><p>* * *</p><p>After picking yourself and Ezra up off the floor, you suggested a long, warm shower. Not a spray-down, which was typical on the <em>Fortitude</em>, but a shower. Neither you nor Ezra wanted to be far away from each other, and Ezra needed help with his arm, so you opted to shower together. As you stood beneath the warm spray of water, the blood, sweat, and grime washed away from your skin. You took turns washing each other, taking extra care with Ezra’s arm. When you finished rinsing his hair, you pressed a kiss to his shoulder before he started on you.</p><p>Feeling cleaner than you had in years, the two of you stepped out of the shower, and made your way to Ezra’s bedroom. “Stay close to me tonight, my dearest love. I am not inclined to stray too far from you,” Ezra said. You leaned up on your tiptoes and kissed Ezra softly. “You’re stuck with me,” you said, “I’m not going anywhere.” Your thumb stroked his cheek beneath his scar and he led you to bed. You took your time with each other that night, being extra cautious of his injury. Both of you quietly worried as you lay tangled up together afterward that neither of you would sleep. But sleep, like it always does, found you, and pulled you away from the waking world for the night, leaving all your burdens and fears behind you until the next day.</p><p>You woke up tucked tightly against Ezra’s good side, feeling both well-rested yet exhausted. Ezra was still sleeping, but it was more of a doze than a full, deep sleep. You gazed at him as he stirred lightly, filling up with such tender emotions as you looked at him. Pressing a kiss to the scruff of his beard, you whispered, “I love you.” Ezra grunted slightly and sighed. “I love you, too, starlight,” he mumbled. Since Ezra had called today off, you decided to lie there with him, until your stomach protested.</p><p>After breakfast (in bed), you changed Ezra’s bandage. It was something that you were good at, you realized, taking care of Ezra. It was something that you wanted to continue doing. You examined the wound, and noticed that it looked better than it had last night. The flesh looked pinker and less red and angry, like it was healing up nicely. Still, you didn’t hold out on the bacta spray before applying fresh gauze.</p><p>After sending Ezra back to the bedroom, you washed your hands before rejoining him there. You really didn’t want to address the elephant in the room of what your next move was. But you and Ezra needed to figure out what to do next. The two of you couldn’t exactly stay on the <em>Fortitude </em>forever. Seeing your worried face, Ezra pulled you close to him, pressed his lips to your hairline and said, “Don’t you fret, starlight. We will configure something. I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p>Two days later, your unspoken question was answered. After you had put on a fresh bandage to Ezra’s almost healed arm, a transmission came through to your overhead radio. You frowned as a woman’s voice filled the room. “…<em>anyone out there? My name is Dr. Amelia Brand. I repeat, my name is Dr. Amelia Brand. I am the last standing member of the </em>Endurance <em>team. And I have found a hospitable planet in the Gargantua system by the name of Edmunds.” </em>You and Ezra shared a look of wonder as Brand continued: <em>“I am alone here, about to head down for the long nap. But if anyone can hear me, please know that this planet is safe, hospitable, and good for starting over.</em>”</p><p>The two of you discussed late into the night. As you lay in bed, Ezra’s arm draped across your naked body as you splayed against his, your head resting on his chest, the two of you decided - you should attempt to journey to Edmunds’ planet. You’d vaguely known Brand back on Earth. She was a kind and trustworthy person; she had no reason to lie.</p><p>So the next day, you took all that you needed with you and began your journey back across Gargantua, with the co-ordinates of Edmunds’ planet stored into the navigation console. It was surreal going back through the wormhole. But after all that you had experienced, the passage through was not as nerve wracking as it had been the first time. As you exited the wormhole at Brand’s system of planets, a thought came to you. “In Earth years, how old do you think we are?” Ezra smiled at you, teasing, “Oh, I’d say you’re about four hundred and nine, and I’m … four hundred and nineteen.” You laughed. “What amuses you so, starlight? I for one find us to be <em>very</em> captivating for being so ancient.”</p><p>From exiting the wormhole, Edmunds’ planet was not too far. This system was not dissimilar to the one that you and Ezra had been in, with a planet on the cusp of Gargantua here as well. As you landed, you noticed settlements and wondered how long it had been for Amelia since she made that broadcast.</p><p>You landed in an abandoned area, not too far from the NASA habitat. A woman with dark hair emerged from the building at the sound of your landing and spotted you. She wasn’t wearing a helmet or a spacesuit. You didn’t want to take your chances, not after what happened last time.</p><p>“Hi there, I’m Amelia Brand. And you are …?” You introduced yourself. “And this is Ezra. He’s my …” you took a glance at Ezra before settling on the word he had used with Damon when describing you earlier, “partner.” Amelia gave you a knowing smile at your long pause and shared gaze with Ezra, whose hand was twined in yours.</p><p>“We were in the Damon, Inumon, Oruf system, which went horribly awry from the get-go. My starlight and I were just wonderin’ what we were goin’ to do with ourselves when your message came through like a siren’s call across the galaxy for us to follow,” Ezra explained. Amelia nodded vaguely, staring at a rock formation just off to the side, a sad expression crossing her face for a moment before returning her attention to you.</p><p>“You can take your helmets off, the air is breathable here.” You and Ezra did not need to be told twice. “I’m sure we can find you a place to set up here. That is, if you’re meaning to stay?” she asked as you and Ezra set your helmets down. You and Ezra shared a look before answering Amelia. “Yes, neither of us is going anywhere.”</p><p> </p><p>* * *</p><p><em>Four years later</em>…</p><p>The little girl’s laughter filled the air outside your farmhouse as she played with her father. Shortly after you had settled, away from the burgeoning settlement so you would not be as disturbed by others, having given up on science, medicine and piloting, except for in cases of emergencies, you and Ezra had taken in a young girl, whose parents had died in a rockslide incident while out hiking. Although she wasn’t biologically related to you, she was your daughter, who had Ezra wrapped around her little finger. You watched as your husband played with her in the yard as the sun set behind your house, your hand coming up to rest on the child growing inside you. Ezra met your gaze from where you sat on the porch, watching them play in the garden. You knew the seven year old had to go to sleep soon; she was always up with the sun, ready for another adventure, but your heart was filled with such tenderness at the sight of her playing and having fun with the man you fell in love with across time and space.</p><p>You hoped to every god that she would never have to experience what you and Ezra had to experience, what everyone who made it from Earth had experienced. You hoped that she never had to want for anything the way the generations before her had. While you and Ezra had healed from your experiences, you still were haunted by them every now and again. As the baby inside you kicked, you remembered how utterly <em>happy </em>Ezra had been when you had told him that you were carrying his child.</p><p>The sun was getting lower and lower, and you knew it was time to call your first daughter in. “Cee, sweet girl! It’s time for you to go to sleep, but we can have more adventures tomorrow, okay?” you said from the deck. You watched as she looked to Ezra who nodded before she called back, “Okay, mama!”</p><p>“Down for the count?” you whispered to Ezra as he shut the door behind him. He nodded. “Out like a light. I genuinely do not know where she gets her energy from, starlight.” You smiled as your husband lay down next to you in bed. You glanced at the photos on the wall as Ezra took your hand in his. They were the NASA photos of you and him taken before you had left Earth so long ago. Coupled with those two photos was a photo of the two of you on your wedding day, so quiet and understated, and a photo of you, him, and Cee on the day that you had formally adopted her.</p><p>It was a simple life, not the one you had ever expected for yourself, but as you kissed Ezra goodnight before switching off the light for sleep, and whispered “I love you” to each other in the dark before falling asleep, you knew it was one that was well worth going through the stars for.</p>
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